End Of An Era
by Androclez
Summary: Mega Man is pushed beyond the breaking point and Dr. Light's entire career is in jeopardy. The whole gang's lives unravel in this shocking tale of the Classic era's tragic end.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Mega Man and all related characters are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd.

The End Of An Era  
by Androclez

Part One

The Beginning of the End:

_Dr. Wily has been misbehaving once again, and as usual Megaman went to his fortress to stop him. Currently, Megaman is floating through a series of Wily's standard traps like it's a breeze. He's done this so many times over the years that he already knows just where to jump, slide or shoot. Those dematerializing platform-blocks have always unnerved him, but he even manages to feel his way through these, as he carefully times his jumps. _

_But Megaman got a little overconfident this time, and he wasn't prepared for Wily's newest trap. As he jumped over a long row of spikes, an electromagnet hidden below the spikes began to pull Megaman down! Just in time, Megaman's faithful sidekick Rush swooped underneath him and prevented Megaman from hitting the spikes. But as a result, Rush got sucked onto the spikes himself, and was destroyed._

"Ruuuuuuuuush!!!!!" screamed Megaman.

_He quickly spotted the power mechanism for the trap, and blasted it with his megabuster. But it was too late. Rush was gone... _

_Megaman made his way through the rest of the fortress, and then furiously knocked down the door to Wily's chamber. He spotted the mad scientist sitting inside a massive, skull shaped battle armor._

"You'll pay for this Wily!" shouted Megaman.

pow

POW

**POW!**

_Megaman finished Wily's last war machine in record time. The old man came crashing to the ground as it exploded._

"Uh oh. Looks like I am beaten again," Wily grumbled. "Okay, I've learned my lesson for the day. You can take me to jail so I can get waived through the system again."

"It's not that simple!" shouted Megaman. "Not this time..."

"What are you babbling about?" scoffed Wily.

"Rush died in one of your stupid traps, you psycho!" growled Megaman.

"Whoops! Too bad for you," Wily chuckled, sarcastically.

"Even worse for you," Megaman coldly replied, as he aimed his megabuster at Wily and began to charge a shot.

"What are you doing?!" cried Wily. "A robot cannot harm a human being!"

_Megaman slowly lowered his buster and dissipated the charge._

"That's right. You can't defy your built-in code of ethics," said Wily. "That's why I always get away in the end, and you will always be my b—!"

"Don't you test me old man, 'cause I'm tired of teaching 'lessons'!" warned Megaman.

"Oh? And what are you going to do, little boy blue?" taunted Wily.

"What you don't know is, Dr. Light made a little upgrade to my A.I. a while back," explained Megaman.

"What do you mean?" asked Wily.

"This!" yelled Megaman.

**BOOM!**

_And so, on what started as a routine mission to Dr. Wily's lair, Megaman lost his longtime companion Rush and murdered Wily. The fallen hero was called to account for his error by the authorities. It would become the trial of the century._

To Be Continued…

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Please Review.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

At the trial:

_Mega Man sat in the Defendant's chair with his arms and legs bound in high tech restraints. He wore a stern and constrained expression on his face. Dr. Light and Roll were among the many spectators in the audience._

The judge began speaking:

"We are presented today with a most unusual and tragic matter," he began. "A robot once hailed as a hero by many has taken the life of a human being. Never in all my 24 years as a judge has such a disgusting spectacle disgraced my courtroom!"

_Roll and Light were a bit discouraged by this last statement. The trial had only just begun and already it seemed it wasn't going well. The judge angrily turned towards Mega Man._

"And what does the "great" Mega Man have to say for himself?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw the book at you right now! Well?! Will you actually try to make an excuse for your deplorable actions?!"

_Mega Man kept silent._

_Seeing that the circumstances of the trial were less than favorable for a real defense, Dr. Light timidly rose from his seat to address the judge._

"Um, your honor…" he began. "Isn't Mega Man entitled to a lawyer and trial by jury?"

"I'll be darned if I'm going to let some robot have the equal rights to a human!" The judge angrily sputtered.

"What then, was the purpose of holding a trial at all?" inquired Dr. Light.

"I'm warning you "doctor;" another outburst like that and I'm holding you in contempt of court!"

"But, but… well, I uh..." Dr. Light stammered in confusion.

"I'll be frank with you Light," the judge continued. "I am a man who both hates and fears technology… as well as the color blue! I'm very well aware that this so called "Mega Man" of yours has gained many fans over the years, but I assure you that I am not one of them!"

_Roll was visibly startled by the judge's harsh words. He continued his rant._

"From the very beginning, I was opposed to the idea of equipping mere machines with such deadly force and allowing them to interfere in the affairs of human beings. I have long suspected the potential dangers of such an irresponsible arrangement. And furthermore Dr. Light, I am not in the mood for any shenanigans in my courtroom, especially from the likes of you! If you came here today expecting to garner an acquittal by shifting the public opinion in your favor, you are sadly mistaken. I have tolerated your and Mega Man's shameless showboating in the media for years, and now I will do anything to make sure this smug +#$tard gets sent up the river without a paddle! Do I make myself clear?!

_Dr. Light just groaned and sat back down._

"Good," said the judge. "In that case, if the defense rests…"

"But this isn't fair!" Roll suddenly shouted, as she jumped up from her seat.

"Oh?" the judge remarked, inquisitively. "What's with this spunky 'skirt'?"

"Mega Man should be allowed to tell his side of the story!" Roll protested.

"I gave him his chance to speak," said the judge.

"Tell them Mega Man! Won't you say something?" Roll pleaded, looking straight at him.

_Mega Man averted his eyes from hers, with an agitated look of shame._

"Then I'll say something!" Roll began, as she turned towards the audience. "Mega Man has been a loyal, self sacrificing, protector of the people for many years! He has saved countless lives, often at the risk of his own."

"Hardly an equivalent risk!" the judge scoffed. "A robot's life is worth nothing compared to that of a human."

"But Dr. Wily was a fiendish human who endangered countless millions on a regular basis!" argued Roll. "Mega Man was the only one to ever stand up to him, but no matter how many times he put him away in prison, Wily always returned to the same–

"Now hold on little missy!" the judge interrupted. "Are you trying to undermine our law enforcement officers and criminal justice system?!

"I'm just saying that the prison system never reformed or restrained Wily for very long, and Mega Man is really the best protection any of us has against major threats to our society," said Roll.

"Enough!" the judge yelled. "If you keep running your mouth it's going to be _**your**_ cute behind sitting in the Defendant's chair next!"

_Roll sank back to her seat in defeat._

"I trust that there will be no further interruptions," the judge said, menacingly.

_No one uttered another word of objection. The entire assembly was silent._

"Very well then, I shall conclude these proceedings," he said, turning towards Mega Man.

"Mega Man, you are hereby eternally decommissioned from your duties! Guards! Take him away for dismantling!"

_The guards led a dejected looking Mega Man out of the courtroom. As they entered the streets outside, Protoman observed them from a nearby rooftop._

"All those years of loyal service, and this is the thanks he gets?" Protoman wondered aloud.

_He shook his head, realizing that this was the reason he didn't stick his neck out for other people._

Meanwhile, back inside the courtroom:

"Don't think this is over, Light" the judge scowled. "You won't be off the hook that easily for your role in all this."

_Dr. Light shifted nervously in his seat._

"I'll see to it that you never create another robot again!" said the judge. "New laws are already being formulated on this matter. I'll be seeing you again soon," he concluded, as he exited the room.

"Ohh!" Dr. Light moaned. "What am I going to do Roll? Things can't get much worse than this!"

But unbeknownst to Dr. Light and everyone else in the general public, Dr. Wily had a chip implanted in his head, which transmitted all neural data from his brain to the main computer in his laboratory. Upon his death, the computer stopped receiving this data and was then signaled to boot up a virtual copy of Wily's mind in the computer. This enabled Wily to manipulate various machinery in the building. Before long, Wily's lab was up and running again and operations soon commenced on a new project: _**The Completion of Zero**_

To Be Concluded…

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I would like very much to hear what you all think of this chapter. Any comment you want to make would be greatly appreciated, even if you just want to say that you liked it or hated it. As always, annonymous reviews are accepted. Thanks. 


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

One worrisome day at Light Labs:

_In his despair, Dr. Light became an alcoholic in the weeks following the incident. He starts speaking in the slurred, "Elmer Fudd" voice from the english version of Megaman 8. Today, Dr. Light is brooding in his armchair, reflecting on his recent troubles and the loss of Megaman._

"Dr. Light, are you feeling all right?" asked Roll.

"How can I evah be aw-wight with my Mega gone?" he whimpered.  
"Out of all of you, he was the wun I wuvved the most."

"We all miss him Dr. Light, but we still have each other," said Roll.

"Ah... Dwear, sweedt Woll," sighed Dr. Light, in slurred speech.  
"Yes, I still 'ave you, don' I?"  
"...Hic-cup!"

"You don't look so well Dr. Light," Roll observed.  
"Are you sick?"

"Jus' a bwit chilly..." replied Dr. Light.

_He pulled out a bottle of scotch and took a swig of it._

"Ahh... Thad warmed me a bit." he sighed with satisfaction.  
"Why don't you come ovah here an' sid on Dad's lap to really warm 'im up..."

_Roll finally caught on to the cause of Dr. Light's slovenly countenance..._

"Dr. Light, you said you'd stop drinking!" she cried.

"Nevuh-mind thad..." muttered Light.  
"HIC!"

_He got up and stumbled toward Roll._

"Lemme 'ave a clo-sah look at you girlie. Docta' haz to give you a checkup. Urgh..."

"Dr. Light... No!" Roll cried.

"Ungh!"  
_she grunted as the portly old man collapsed on top of her and passed out._

"Oh Dr. Light..." said Roll, sorrowfully.

_Just then, Protoman happened to be stopping by to see how Dr. Light and company were holding up. He teleported into the scene._

"Hey Dr. Light, I just stopped by to... huh??" asked a stunned Protoman.  
"Dr Light! What are you–?!"

"Protoman!" cried Roll, in embarrassment.  
"Um, Dr. Light was drinking again and got a bit frisky," she explained.

"What?! How long has this been going on?" demanded Protoman.

"He's not always like this," explained Roll.  
"But ever since Megaman..."

"I see," Protoman sighed.

_He helped lift the pathetic old soul off of her, and she put him to bed._

Late that night, at Wily's lab:

"Zero, my masterpiece… You are finally complete," Wily proclaimed.

_Zero's eyes opened as he sat upright._

"Now you will carry out my revenge on the one responsible for my death," continued Wily.  
"Our rivalry is what gives me motivation in life, and so I have returned from the grave for this purpose. I will not rest until I have finally defeated him."

_Zero stared up blankly as he listened._

"Now go!" commanded Wily.  
"Destroy him! That's an order."

_Zero grabbed hold of his saber and leapt into action._

Early the next morning; at Light Labs:

"Good morning Roll," said Dr. Light, groggily.

"Dr. Light, you're awake!" said Roll.  
"Are you feeling any better?"

"I will as soon as you hand me that bourbon," replied Dr. Light.

"But Dr. Light..."

"I didn't build you to give me lip!" yelled Dr. Light.  
"Now hand over the bottle, you little house-wench!"

_Roll reluctantly complied, against her better judgment._

"GULP, GULP, GULP."

_Dr. Light chugged down some of the whiskey._

"Hoo-wee! Thadt'z gud stuff!" he bellowed.

_Within moments Dr. Light is tipsy again, although only half as drunk as last night._

"Come here Roll," instructed Dr. Light.  
"I have somethin' to show you. ...HIC!"

"Dr. Light, please don't. I don't want to see it!" pleaded Roll, as she started to back away from him.

"Will you just follow me to the workroom!" snapped Dr. Light.  
"I dun had enough of y'all disobeying me, dam# robots!"

_Roll just stood there, looking hurt.  
__Dr. Light sighed and finally calmed down._

"Look, I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around lately, and I'm sorry for that," said Dr. Light.  
"But what I have to show you is of the utmost importance. That's why I'm entrusting it to you."

_Roll brightened a little._

"No one outside of this lab must know what's being stored behind that door," warned Dr. Light.

"Oh, I get it!" said Roll.  
"Now that you mention it, I suspected you had been building something new recently." she whispered.

"That's right, it's my most important project yet," said Dr. Light as he took another gulp of whiskey.  
"Follow me."

_The two of them enter Light's secret workroom, sealing the door shut behind them. There is a capsule in the center of the room. Dr. Light unveils the cover to reveal..._

"Mega Man?!" asked Roll, in surprise.

"Not quite," explained Dr. Light.  
"Lying before you in this capsule is the most advanced wobot known to man."

"Wobot?" asked Roll.  
"Oh! you mean **robot**?"

"Just listen!" snapped Light.  
"I've designed this new-model robot in the likeness of Megaman as a sort of memorial to him. It's my way of giving him a second chance. But he'll have to stay in this capsule for 30 years so diagnostics can be run on his system to insure he will remain loyal to humans. I might not be around for that long, especially with the way I be drinking. So when the time comes, I want you to activate Megaman X and help him to wield his considerable power wisely. Do you understand your responsibility?"

"Wow Dr. Light, I don't know what to say," answered Roll.  
"What should I do to prepare myself? I suppose I'll probably get battle upgrades just like–"

"Now hold on, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Dr. Light chuckled.

"I don't know Dr. Light, this is some heavy stuff you're laying on me," said Roll.  
"I might need a swig of that whiskey you got there!"

"Oh no you don't!" said Dr. Light, as he held the bottle out of Roll's reach.  
"This is only for grownups. And besides, I hear somebody at the door. You'd better go see who it is."

"Oh, all right," Roll said, with a grin.  
"And don't worry, I won't let you down," she winked just before she left the workroom.

_Roll headed out to the front door and saw a red armored robot with long blonde hair waiting in the foyer. He had a saber but it was in the "off" position, so the blade was not visible to her._

"What does this guy want; interrupting us right when we were getting to the good part!" Roll exclaimed.  
"Oh well, at least he's cute. I wonder who he is."

_At the same time, Beat flew out of Auto's workshop to come see who was at the door. The bird twitters up beside Roll as she walks forward to greet their guest._

"Excuse me sir, can I help–"

_Zero clasped his hand over Roll's mouth._

"Mmm!!" Roll let out a muffled scream.

_Zero quickly pressed the saber hilt up against her abdomen and turned it on!_

BZZZZZZzzzwish!

"Ahhh!" Roll shrieked, with a stunned expression on her face.

"Hmph!" Zero chuckled, with a sadistic grin.

_With the blade still piercing through her, Roll slumped backwards._

"I- I've failed you Dr. Light...," she gasped, as a tear fell from her eye.

_The energy of the saber pulses through Roll all the way up to her skull, completely blowing her brains/CPU out. Her chest explodes open and she collapsed to the ground._

"Weakling..." muttered Zero.

"Tweet!" Beat squealed in terror.

_The little bird-bot frantically fled from the scene. He flew all the way back to Auto's workshop._

"TWEET TWEET TWEET!" Beat cried.

"What's gotten into you, you silly little birdbrain?" asked Auto.

"TWEET! TWEET!" Beat tried to tug on Auto to lead him out of the workshop.

"Alright, alright!" said Auto.  
"Let's go see what's gotten you so worked up, little fella."

_Beat led Auto back into the front room where Roll's lifeless body was sprawled out on the floor._

"What the-?!" exclaimed Auto.  
"Somebody f—ed Roll up!"

"You have no idea," came a voice from behind.

"Huh? NO!" cried Auto. "Urghh!"

_Shortly thereafter, Protoman stopped by to check-in on everyone at Light Labs again. As he entered the building he was met with a horrific sight. Auto was just sitting there on the floor... dead. The remains of Beat were shoved down his throat. Roll was still lying there next to him, totally fried._

"No way!" gasped Protoman.  
"How can this be?!"

_He dashed through the lab searching for survivors or intruders. The lab was disheveled as if someone had already been searching through it, furiously. He came to the door of Dr. Light's workroom and saw that it was sealed shut._

"Dr. Light! Are you in there?! It's Protoman!"

_The door opened and Dr. Light quickly pulled Protoman inside._

"Are you all right doctor?" asked Protoman.  
"It looks like someone tore through here and... they got Roll and Auto."

"Yes, I know," said Dr. Light, gravely.  
"Protoman, something terrible has happened! The lab is under attack by the most wickedly powerful robot I've ever seen. It looks like one of Wily's!"

"He must have had a sleeper unit programed to activate in his absence," said Protoman.  
"I'll have to go confront it."

"Wait Protoman! Its power is like nothing you've ever encountered in the past. It rivals the next-generation model I just finished building in this capsule. This thing is way beyond you."

"Hold on," said Protoman.  
"You have a robot in here that could beat this thing?"

"Perhaps, but he's not ready," Dr. Light explained.  
"I'm still running tests on him to determine his loyalty."

"Can't we test him on the battlefield right now?!" urged Protoman.

"I must know if he will uphold the laws of robotics!" Light insisted.

"Then that leaves me to face this guy alone!" said an exasperated Protoman

"No!" said Dr. Light.  
"You must flee, Protoman. You're no match for him."

"I'll determine that for myself!" said Protoman.  
"Anyway, it doesn't look like we have much choice. Sounds like he found our hiding place."

BANG! CLANK!

_Zero was outside the fortified door, trying to pound his way in._

"Don't worry Dr. Light, I'll find a way," said Protoman, as he stood at the ready.  
"Megaman always did..." he said somberly.

_Dr. Light cowered in the back of the workshop._

"I've got to preserve X at all cost," thought Dr. Light.

_He rushed to the capsule and started typing a message on the keypad._

WARNING:

"X" is the first of a new generation of robots which contain an innovative new feature - The ability to think, feel and make their own decisions. However this ability could be very dangerous if "X" were to break the first rule of robotics, "A robot must never harm a human being". The results would be disastrous and I fear that no force on Earth could stop him.

Approximately 30 years will be required before we can safely confirm his reliability. Unfortunately I will not live to see that day, nor do I have anyone to carry on my work. Therefore, I have decided to seal him in this capsule, which will test his internal systems until his reliability has been confirmed. Please do not disturb the capsule until that time.

"X" possesses great risks as well as great possibilities. I can only hope for the best.

September 18, 20XX

T. Light

"There. 30 years worth of loyalty ought to do it," said Dr. Light, as Zero was already roughing Protoman up at the other end of the room.

**BAM!  
**_Protoman crashed into the wall from one of Zero's blows._

"You- you're strong," coughed Protoman.  
"Maybe my stregnth wasn't enough after all. But I won't back down!"

_Protoman leapt from the ground, landing a solid blow against Zero. But the harder he came at him, the more Zero seemed to be enjoying the fight! Dr. Light saw everything from the back of the room._

"He's merely toying with him," observed Light.  
"That monster robot could end this fight at any moment, but he's taking pleasure in the combat! It won't end well..." he concluded.

_With that, Dr. Light initiated the self-destruct function of the lab, destroying the entire structure. The blast also finished Protoman off, and left X and Zero buried underground. They laid there unconscious for years to come; the living legacies of two of the greatest scientific minds in history. What fate would await them in the future? Only time would tell._

The End...

...for now.


End file.
